Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 8.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,432 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $126,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $157,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Essent Group stock opened at $57.36 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $44.34 and a 52 week high of $59.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.25.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.